I like your way of thinking.
These are a guilty pleasure of mine that I've mentioned before. There's actually nothing that I dislike about them, but I say guilty because I feel the "sport tuned" suspension and 17" alloy wheels, combined with a 10-15hp increase from a less restrictive exhaust, weren't really enough for it to earn its stripes. So it needs more power. The SS/T and Indy Ram drew inspiration from the Dodge Ram VTS concept which received a Viper V10, but it's a truck and that means the rear tires are unloaded unless you're hauling something, plus, dare I say, a period Viper engine doesn't have enough grunt to match the SS/T's presence? The final iteration had a fair bit more but there's still the matter of a Viper's driveline configuration. Sure, a lot could be done to help it hook up, but that starts to strip away truck functionality real quick.
What about AWD?
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710hp through an 8-speed automatic...and AWD.
A custom cradle carries the supercharged Hemi engine, front axle, suspension and brakes with "stupid" struts (no active damping for more analog performance) placed about 3.5" wider to match the Ram's wider footprint, while custom front halfshafts and an electric power rack to reduce pumping losses round out the front end modifications. The rear gets a live axle located with a 4-link and Watts bellcrank, and carried by a more conventional coil suspension, while a Currie 9" Ford housing and third member get stuffed with a 3.70 gear (to match the front, which dictates a non-Dodge axle because those lack a matching ratio) and longer shafts with ends redrilled to 5-on-5 using aftermarket brakes to fill the 20" Hellcat alloys. The beautiful thing is the SS/T's tires are 30" tall, just half an inch shorter than the Hellcat's, so that wider rubber fills the wells nicely. Inside, the dash gets tidied up and materials get upgraded to leather and microsuede, but the whole arrangement is largely left alone. Body is also fairly standard, but the hood, grille, roof skin and tailgate skin are replicated in silver aluminized carbon fiber with Emerald Green Metallic sprayed over everything except the stripes so that the material shows through in place of decals.
The 8HP95 has a 4.71 first and direct drive is pushed all the way to sixth with only two overdrive gears like a T56. I've driven a Hellcat Durango and it pulls awful hard. I also gather there are just no shorter gears available on the aftermarket...certainly that was the case a few years ago as a buddy with one bemoaned their absence. The truck would be lighter than the SUV just by virtue of being a truck, and that would also help.
I haven't had the experience of so much torque AND traction all in one package.
I will happily admit that when I read your post, I automatically assumed that someone with a quirky taste for the Allegro, but a need for more go from the loud pedal, had just shoved a Type R driveline up an Austin.
And no need for a six figure supercar budget either.I actually happened upon that early on--I think they'd just gotten an Integra to start cutting apart--because I have a soft spot for the [admittedly terrible] Allegro and was following along casually but lost interest when they got to flaring it because I just wasn't thrilled about the direction they went.
Well before that I was kicking around ideas for an Allegro Equipe.
To keep it somewhat in the family, I was thinking a high-spec Rover K-series, something like the VCC motor which the MG ZR 160 got (and its accompanying PG1 gearbox, both shared with the Lotus Elise), but with VCC-delete and big cams. It's a bit of a strain but there is a connection between MG Rover and British Leyland. You could argue that Honda is also in the family because BL ultimately built the Triumph Acclaim which did briefly stave off the company's demise, but I'd want to keep it British just the same. Anyway it'd need to have wider arches because of the powerpack's width (the Allegro's E-series sat on top of the gearbox like a Mini) and the Hydragas would need to go in favor of adjustable struts, plus probably 15" wheels to fit the ZR brakes.
Gettin' perilously close to mockery of the totally awesome Equipe package and its fantastic graphics, partner.
Totally justified as a restomod, but hopefully it keeps the Busso V6. Maybe tack on the AWD system developed for the 164 Q4 by Steyr-Puch behind it? Shame that's the only AWD Busso car that Alfa built (I had an idea for a Gamma Coupe using the same; it's a fun exercise so I have lots of ideas floating around my otherwise pretty empty skull).It's probably not old enough for proper resto-mod status, but I've always had a soft spot for the Alfa Romeo GTV. I'd love to own one as a project car at some point.
As @TexRex says, no pr9blem here.
🤣Gettin' perilously close to mockery of the totally awesome Equipe package and its fantastic graphics, partner.
Totally justified as a restomod, but hopefully it keeps the Busso V6. Maybe tack on the AWD system developed for the 164 Q4 by Steyr-Puch behind it? Shame that's the only AWD Busso car that Alfa built (I had an idea for a Gamma Coupe using the same; it's a fun exercise so I have lots of ideas floating around my otherwise pretty empty skull).
And that's how most treat it. Coyotes in first gen Mustangs and Broncos, LT4s in C10s, 3.6s in backdated 964s. I tend to think it's modification for performance while preserving much of the spirit of the original. Of course I've traipsed over that line or just plain lost sight of it behind me with a combination of tire smoke and bugs in my face (the three-rotor three-wheeler), but I think this thread should be fun first and I'm having fun. This stuff makes my brain happy.
Totally fair, but I need to try my best to sell you on absconding with the highest of late '80s* sport sedan technology from that 164.
